(Yicai Global) Oct. 10 – China’s new energy vehicle brand Seres’ sales surged 598 percent in September from a year earlier, thanks to the partnership with tech giant Huawei Technologies.

Seres sold 10,142 NEVs last month, for a total of 49,575 units in the first three quarters of the year, up over 1,000 percent compared with the same period a year ago, according to the latest sales data released by Seres Group, the Chongqing-based company.

The carmaker joined hands with Huawei in April last year. The pair has cooperated on three NEV models so far. Shenzhen-based Huawei is engaged in designing the models and selling auto products across the country through its sales channels.

Total sales for NEVs in the Seres Group were nearly 17,600 vehicles last month (including Seres Brand and Fengguang Brand) , up 341 percent from the same period last year. Between January and September, the figure exceeded 91,150 units, a gain of 254 percent from a year earlier.

Net loss at Seres widened 259 percent to CNY1.7 billion (USD241 million) in the first half from a year earlier, mainly due to the substantial increase in financial expenses and sales, management, and research and development costs. Revenue rose 68 percent to CNY12.4 billion (USD1.7 billion).

Seres is Huawei’s only in-depth partner in the automotive field. Sales of Avita and BAIC Jihu, the two other carmakers that purchased in-vehicle systems from the tech giant, are not as high as expected.

Avita 11, the first model of Avita, equipped with full-stack intelligent car solution Huawei Inside, was officially launched in August and will be delivered within the year. It received only 20,000 orders in a month, while Seres’ Aito M7 got over 10,000 orders within two hours of the release.

Sales of the product resulting from the cooperation between BAIC Jihu and Huawei are even more sluggish. BAIC Fox Alpha S (HI version) began presales in April last year, but the delivery date was repeatedly postponed from the fourth quarter of 2021 to July. Only 477 units of the model were sold as of August, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.

Editor: Futura Costaglione